“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?” Matt. 7:9-11

This past week I celebrated my 27th birthday with Ashley. It was a relatively quiet day; we went out for dinner, and had cake. However, ten years ago, on my 17th birthday, things were even quieter. I found a card from my parents on the kitchen table that morning. I opened it up to find my dad’s handwriting, and began reading the words with relative grogginess. However, I was startled when I read the closing words of the card: my dad was giving me his last classic car, his 1963 Chrysler Windsor, as my birthday present. There are probably few things to make a 17 year-old speechless, but somehow, dad had managed. Even though we’ve had our rough spots over the years, he was nevertheless the one who had fostered a love of old cars within me, and he had given me the perfect gift.

A year later, 2 days after my 18th birthday, I decided to give my life to Jesus Christ. In return, I received another perfect gift, but this time from my Father in heaven: eternity with Him. I drove to my baptism that Sunday morning in my 1963 Chrysler. While I don’t have the car anymore, I have been living an eternal life with God for 9 years now, and I am discovering new facets of this gift week after week. While I may take it for granted sometimes, I cannot, however, think of a more perfect gift – thank-you, Lord!